This seventh volume of ABHB (Annual bibliography of the history of the printed book and libraries) contains about 3200 entries and added entries, selected from some 2000 periodicals, the list of which follows this intro­ duction. They have been compiled by the National Committees of the following countries: Australia Italy Luxembourg Austria Belgium The Netherlands Poland Bulgaria Canada Portugal Denmark Rumania South Africa Finland Spain France Switzerland German Democratic Republic German Federal Republic USA Great Britain USSR Hungary Yugoslavia Ireland (Republic of) Spain has partially been covered through the good offices of an American colleague. Benevolent readers are requested to signal the names of bibliographers and historians from countries not mentioned above, who would be willing to co-operate to this scheme of international bibliographic collaboration. The editor will greatly appreciate any communication on this matter. VIII INTRODUCTION Subject As has been said in the introduction to the previous volumes, this bibli­ ography aims at recording all books and articles of scholarly value which relate to the history of the printed book, to the history of the arts, crafts, techniques and equipment, and of the economic, social and cultural environment, involved in its production, distribution, conservation, and description. Of course, the ideal of a complete coverage is nearly impossible to attain. However, it is the policy of this publication to include missing items as much as possible in the forthcoming volumes. The same applies to countries newly added to the bibliography.